Today’s errand was to collect a parcel that the Royal Mail had failed to deliver.

Waiting for the bus at the Angel

Happily, there is a bus that takes us fairly near to the parcels office. Accordingly, we went off to the Angel bus stop to meet it.

Aboard the 294

Appropriately masked, we boarded the 294 bus, which we call the “Homerton Flyer”. Its ultimate destination is Homerton Hospital but it is a small one-door bus the follows a tortuous route through the backstreets in fits and starts with many a pause at awkward corners and traffic hold-ups. It reaches the goal eventually but does anything but “fly”.

Bye bye, bus

Having left the bus we cast about to orient ourselves. I left this work to Tigger as I knew her inner pigeon would find the way faster than I could by looking at maps.

Cropley Street

We go up here (Cropley Street) and…

Eagle Wharf Road

…along here (Eagle Wharf Road), until…

Royal Mail parcels office

…we come to the Royal Mail sorting and parcels office. There was a queue outside (no surprises there) and so I waited outside while Tigger queued and then was admitted to claim her parcel.

Shoreditch Park

Afterwards, we went for a ramble, which we started by crossing through Shoreditch Park. It was just the weather for a stroll in the park, sunny and warm (as long as you ignored the chilly breeze) and there were a lot of people in the park, including those who, singly or in groups, were doing gymnastics and martial arts.

The beaten track

This path between the trees seemed popular with runners and joggers.

Old Gainsborough Studios

A nearby landmark is the building that was first a warehouse and then became the Gainsborough Studios of Alfred Hitchcock fame. It has now been sold for “redevelopment”.

Lamps of unusual design

Our attention was drawn by these lamps of unusual design. The ironwork decoration suggests that they are quite old but more than that I do not know. The crossbar ladder support suggests that they might once have been lit by gas.

Hoxton Street Market sign

We eventually reached Hoxton Street which, since 1687, had been the site of a well known market, as the above sign declares.

Hoxton is also the name of the district. Popular etymology suggests that the name derives from an ancient farm where pigs (or hogs) were kept but it is considered more likely that the name derives from Anglo-Saxon Hocs (possessive case of the name Hoc) and tun (“farm”), that is, Hoc’s Farm was once to be found here.

Busy market

Since Monday, all market stalls are once again allowed to trade and the market was crowded with both tightly packed rows of stalls and potential customers.

Man with parrot
Photo by Tigger

One of the more colourful of the latter was this gentleman with a parrot in his shoulder.

Hoxton Hall

This relatively modest-looking premises, called Hoxton Hall, started in1863 as Macdonald’s Music Hall and today it is a Grade II* listed building. You will find more about it in my previous post on the topic, A hall in Hoxton.

First World War Memorial to North London Railway Men

Near Hoxton Station, which these days is served by the Overground, stands this simple but dignified memorial to “North London Railway Men” who lost their lived in the First World War.

A glimpse of the Museum of the Home

In this area is to be found a very fine museum, now called the Museum of the Home. It is based on a row of almshouses endowed by Sir Robert Geffrye and the museum originally bore his name. However, recent concerns about racism and the involvement in the slave trade of hitherto celebrated figures, have led to the museum’s rebranding. I took this view of the rear of the main building through the railings of the garden.

We had deliberately more or less followed the bus route so that, when we felt ready to return, we could easily board a bus. Here we are waiting at a bus stop in Kingsland Road. Through the trees you can catch sight of the minaret of the Suleymaniye Mosque.

On the “Flyer” once more

We boarded the “Flyer” once more and were carried, through many a twist and turn back home to the Angel.